Castle of the Night
by jayfeather12345
Summary: Unova's monarch is dead. War is imminent. Under 18s are sent to school. New danger is rising up right under their noses. White runs into an old friend; Crystal finds her nemesis; May has unfinished business with her rival; Misty determines to continue Gym challenges despite the law; Leaf's running from a secret, Dawn has boy trouble and the fate of Pokemon rests on their shoulders.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon

Okay, okay, I know this is the third time I've re-written this story. But it is definitely better this time! I've mixed and matched some of the chapters and added some bits in - if you've read the story before, see if you can guess what they are when you leave a review ;)

* * *

**Prologue**

Misty smiled grimly as she watched her Starmie execute a powerful, deadly accurate Hydro Pump, demolishing the targets she had set up earlier.

"Well done Starmie," she called as Starmie sprang over to the red-headed trainer. Starmie's gem gleamed like a polished ruby in the sunlight. "We've worked long and hard for this, and tomorrow we can finally achieve our goal: winning all eight gym badges. We just have to beat Giovanni tomorrow and collect the Earth badge to complete the set. Since he uses mostly Ground type pokémon, I don't think we should have a problem."

Misty had been training five years for this. Two of those years she had spent in the company of a young, reckless trainer named Ash who always acted before he thought and a slightly older, more sensible boy who turned out to be Pewter City's Gym Leader. They had been two of the happiest years of Misty's life. But then she had been forced to return home, to the Cerulean City Gym where her three beautiful sisters ran the Gym together. They wanted to go off travelling though, so it was left to their younger sister Misty to take care of the gym. During those two years Misty had built up her strength and trained her pokémon hard. When her sisters finally returned they let Misty pick up her journey from where she had left off: taking the Gym challenge. And so now, after a years re-adjusting to travelling with just her pokémon by her side and no hot-headed idiot (she meant the word fondly for old times sake) to lead her off course, she was ready to face the eighth Gym Leader.

Since she had started her journey at ten years old Misty had grown in more ways than one. She was more responsible, less hot-headed (though her temper could still be aroused fairly easily) and she was altogether prettier. Even at fifteen it was obvious that she was just as beautiful as her sisters, if not more so.

But she had never had a boyfriend. Ash and Brock remained good friends, though she had not seen them in years, and the brief romance she had experienced with a Gym Leader Ash had battled once had long since been forgotten. It was not that boys never asked Misty out – in fact it was quite the opposite. But Misty remained focused on the task ahead of her. She always said that she had no time for a boyfriend, that she owed it to her pokémon not to get distracted. And now, everything had paid off. Every sacrifice had been worth it. She was about to face the end of her Gym Challenge.

"This is it, Starmie. Five years we've worked together, and it all comes to a head tomorrow. We should probably get some rest so as not to be worn out for the battle," Misty decided.

"Starmie," Starmie agreed, returning obediently to his pokéball. Misty set off for the pokémon centre where she was staying as dusk fell.

Just as she was entering the centre though, a poster caught her eye. She hurried over to the window where it was clearly visible and read it in shocked disbelief. It said:

**Due to the war soon to break out,**

**All children between the ages of**

**Four and eighteen will be required**

**To attend school.**

**This is for their own safety, as**

**Streets are no longer safe for**

**Under eighteens.**

**They might be captured at any moment,**

**So to prevent them from being hurt**

**They must be sent to school for a proper**

**Education, in order for them to learn to **

**Defend themselves.**

**Any children not in school by September 1st**

**Shall face dire consequences.**

**Thank you for your co-operation**

- **_King Thomas, _****Monarch of the Kanto Region**

Misty just stared at the poster. No. This couldn't be happening. Not when she was so close… No! There had to be a way around this new law.

Forcing herself into action, she ran into the pokémon centre and halted suddenly at the front desk.

"Good evening Misty, is everything all right?" asked the young Nurse Joy, looking up from her paperwork and recognising the teenager stood before her.

"How could they pass a law saying all children under the age of eighteen should go to school? There must be a way around it!" Misty almost shouted, breathing heavily in anger.

"Ah, I forgot how young you were. There is nought to be done about it, I'm afraid. I-" Nurse Joy began, only to be cut off by Misty.

"But I _can't_ go to school! I have one of the most important battles of my _life_ tomorrow!" Misty argued, sounding like a petulant child.

Nurse joy looked up at her with concern. "I'm afraid there is no escaping the law. However, there is something you could do to leave school early," she informed the red-head who looked up eagerly.

"Anything," Misty promised.

"Well, I was researching the law last night and it said that if, at the age of sixteen, a pupil could win the Kanto Challenge and prove themselves able to defend themselves in these troubled times, they would be allowed to leave school and do whatever they wished," Nurse Joy smiled.

Misty looked about to yell again. She couldn't wait another whole year! But then she hesitated. It wasn't Nurse Joy's fault. "Thanks. I'm sorry I yelled at you when you've been nothing but nice to me. I must go to my room and think, I'll see you tomorrow," Misty said in her normal voice, preparing to leave.

"Wait! Your sister, Daisy, called and said she was coming to pick you up at nine O' clock this evening," Nurse Joy remembered. "She said you were to be packed and ready for her to collect you, as she was taking you first home and then to school… Misty? Is everything all right?"

Misty's face went white. "But- but I don't have to go to school until September 1st… I can still have my Gym battle tomorrow, I…" she trailed off as Nurse Joy looked at her with sympathy.

"Misty, September 1st was yesterday."

* * *

Dawn was watching the raindrops slide down the car window as she leaned back in her seat, a feeling of sadness accumulating in her chest. "Just one more day," she whispered. "One more day and I would have collected my fifth ribbon."

"Lup," agreed her Piplup mournfully as he curled up on the seat next to her.

"We're nearly there Dawn," said Johanna, her mother from the front seat. She glanced up at the mirror to look at her daughter, worried. Dawn was usually bright and cheerful, but today all the energy seemed to have been squashed out of her.

Dawn mumbled something in reply and closed her eyes, sighing.

"Dawn? Look, I know you were just about to collect your fifth ribbon, but you'll get another chance. It's okay, at least you're fifteen and will only have to stay at the school for three years," Johanna said in a falsely cheerful tone. She understood only too well what her daughter was feeling. "Besides, you know Barry and Kenny are both enrolled in the same school, so you'll at least have some friends," her mother pointed out.

"Mum – nothing's okay. It was the biggest moment of my life, and the stupid King tore it away from me and is sending me to some stupid school where I'll probably have to do maths all day," Dawn retorted emotionlessly. As for Barry and Kenny... well, Dawn supposed she was glad she wasn't going to be alone at school, but that didn;t change the fact she was still going to school. A school where they enforced uniforms. Dawn shuddered at the thought.

"Maths is a good skill to learn," Johanna replied, taking a corner sharply and jolting everyone, causing her Glameow to complain noisily. "Besides, it wasn't just the King, it was the whole court. And I do think they have a point. War is just around the corner and it's not safe for you out there in the world any longer."

For the first time emotion crossed Dawn's face – anger. "You know I'm able to take care of myself! Ash taught me loads when we were travelling together, as did Brock. I bet they don't have to go to school!"

Johanna raised an eyebrow coolly. "Brock is older than you, so he is not expected to school. And as for Ash, he is the same age as you, so of course he will have to go to school. And speaking of which, here we are."

Johanna pulled the car into a small lane next to which lay a huge, castle-like building. Dawn stared at it in horror. It was grey and dirty; looking like it hadn't been used in centuries. The rain which pounded down didn't help the foreboding-looking building look any nicer.

"But war hasn't broken out yet! There's still time!" Dawn cried desperately, clinging to her seatbelt as her mother stopped the car right outside her new school.

"War is imminent, Dawn," Johanna said sadly, getting out and beginning to unload her daughters trunks from the boot of the car. "There's nothing any of us can do to prevent it."

* * *

May stared around the dormitory of her new school. It was large, drafty and the webs of Spinaraks hung in the corners, making the brunette shiver. She was perched on the edge of her ancient-looking bed, trying not to freeze. None of her pokémon were with her: the school policy stated that the pokémon of new arrivals must be held in the schools pokémon centre until they were declared fit and healthy. She missed her Blaziken already.

"Well, I suppose I could go and explore," she murmured to herself. Glancing once more around the dormitory at the other empty beds she sighed. None of her room-mates had arrived yet, which just made her feel all the more lonely. It was six girls to a dorm and accordingly there were six sets of beds, closets and dressers lining the stone-walled and stone-floored room.

She had arrived a few hours earlier after her Dad had pulled her away from the biggest contest of her life: the Kanto Grand Festival (Since she had already won the Grand Festival in Hoenn.) He had done it because it was September 2nd and to delay meant taking things up in court, which her Dad did not want to do.

May lay back on the bed only to jump up again when a thick cloud of dust rose up. Coughing, she stumbled away, waving her hand in front of her to clear the air.

As she recovered, she reflected that it wasn't her Dad's fault, it was the stupid law. Why couldn't they have waited just a tiny bit longer to pass the law? School hadn't even started yet, to give all the pupils a chance to arrive. Any that failed to turn up by the end of the week would get into major trouble.

May left the room and decided to look for the kitchens. She was already hungry, even though lunch had been only three hours ago. She wandered down stone-walled, empty passages where torches for light were placed at certain intervals. The school was more like a castle, the way it was built, and the corridors reassembled a labyrinth. May paused when she reached fork in the passageway and bit her lip. Looking around, she sighed. Truth be told, she was lost.

"This place gives me the creeps," she muttered to herself out loud.

"You should feel fight at home then," a smug voice said from behind her.

May whirled around to see her green-haired rival leaning against the wall, twirling a rose with his fingers.

May gaped at him. "Drew! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, appearing not to have heard his previous comment.

Drew's eyes twinkled as he said, "Close your mouth, you'll catch Combees otherwise."

The brunette narrowed her matching brown eyes. "My mouth isn't that big!" she retorted, snapping it shut. "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, glaring at him.

Drew smirked. "Talking to you," he replied.

May was about to snap something else at him when she remembered the terms they had last parted on. "I cannot believe you just left me there!" she accused him.

Drew winced slightly. "What a sudden change of subject," he commented.

But May was determined not to let him off the hook that easily. "Why didn't you help me?" she asked, rephrasing her sentence.

"Here, catch," Drew suddenly threw the rose up into the air and May caught it on reflex. She stared down at it, dumbfounded.

"Umm..." she stammered. "What's this for?"

Drew laughed. "See you later, May." He pushed off the wall and, with his hands in his pockets, began sauntering back up the passageway.

"Hey – wait! I'm..." May called after him, but he was already gone, "lost," she sighed and glanced down at the thorn-less rose in her hands. _Strange,_ she reflected. _I've not won a contest, or even participated in one recently. So why would he give me a rose?_

It was a few minutes later after Drew had left her when she came to realise two things: first of all, how had Drew known where she was? She didn't think he was stalking her, but it was still weird. And second, had he really called her a creep, after everything that had happened? She frowned, determined to get to the bottom of Drew's strange behaviour.

Meanwhile, she was still lost.

* * *

White glanced at her watch nervously. Her train was late and it was already two days past the date she should have been in school.

"Sni, snivy!" Snivy nudged White's hand as the ticket collector waited patiently for the pale skinned girl with wavy, chocolaty hair pulled up into a high ponytail to fish her ticket out of her purse.

"Sorry, here it is," the fifteen-year-old girl mumbled, handing it over.

"My!" exclaimed the ticket collector, glancing at it in surprise. "All the way from Unova, are you?"

"Yes, sir. The new law, you see; I'm supposed to be in school," White twirled a strand of hair that had come loose from her high ponytail around her finger.

"Don't they have schools in Unova?" he asked suspiciously, obviously thinking she might be a spy come to Kanto to ferry information back to her government.

"Yes, but my father comes from Kanto and I wasn't allowed to enrol in school in Unova, so they sent me here," White explained nervously as the ticket collector frowned but handed her back her ticket.

She wasn't sure why she was so nervous: She had been travelling with her pokémon for six months before the law was passed, and was usually unfazed by new situations. _It must be having to go to school in a foreign region,_ she decided as she stroked Snivy absently. What if everyone noticed she was foreign and tried to bully her? _Well, if that happens than I shall defend myself, _she thought determinedly. She hadn't spent all that time training her pokémon all for nothing.

The whistle blew for her station and she stood up, collecting her belongings. As she headed off the train she noticed with an unsettled feeling that she was the only person getting off at the desolate, rained on station.

She could just see her new school ahead of her and what she saw made her shudder. "Please someone, come and kill me now," she muttered as she began walking with Snivy at her side, only half-joking.

* * *

"Hurry up Miss Crystal; we have to leave now, before your Father fires me for not getting you there on time," called a middle aged man to his bosses daughter, a pretty fifteen-year-old girl with long silvery-white hair, grey eyes and an explosive temper.

Crystal was in her room, staring out of her window at the beautiful view. "Ready to go back to school, Vulpix?"

"Pix!" the small orange pokémon nodded, her eyes narrowed in determination.

Crystal smiled thinly. "Good. This is our chance to start afresh. Robin told me the Academy have introduced new security measures since I was last there, so it'll be interesting to see what they've done with the place."

Vulpix wound her way around her mistress legs as she crossed the large room to pick up her expensive bag. "Vul, Vulpix!"

"Oh, don't worry, I've not forgotten _him_. When we next meet I'm going to make sure he wishes he was never born," she promised darkly.

"Miss Crystal!" the call came again.

"Don't worry Guy, Father won't fire you. You've been his right hand man for years," Crystal called back. Vulpix jumped onto her shoulder as she slowly walked down the stairs. "The Ice Academy is soon going to regret every asking me to come back to them," she smiled.

* * *

While everyone was settling into school in Kanto, an eighteen-year-old boy with green hair and pale grey eyes was sitting, quite still, in the middle of an important meeting.

"Just remember, never forget why you are there – to protect your Region at all costs," a bald man was saying.

N heard the rustling of paper and then a short silence before the bald man spoke again:

"Understand?"

N nodded dutifully. "Yes, your Honour. Nothing shall come between me and the mission."

"Good. Tell me once more what your mission is, and then be off. Your train leaves in twenty two minutes."

N sat straight up in his seat. "My mission is to keep the girl free of any hindrance so that she may grow to fulfil her part in Team Plasma's ultimate destiny," he recited it as though he had spent hours learning it. (In truth, he had spent only seconds.)

"Good. There is hope yet for Team Plasma." The bald man watched in satisfaction as N left his place and exited the room obediently. Yes, there was hope yet.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, like it? Or not like it? Whatever your thoughts, I would love to read about them in a review! And, like I said at the top, can you guess which bit I added?

And, by the way, Crystal is a character I made up. I know there is a character called Crystal in the anime, but this is not that Crystal.

Thanks,

Jay


	2. The Mystery Begins

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon

In reply to _Ready to fly:_ I know, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to rewrite it again! I just got inspired suddenly and felt I could make it much better. Thanks for your review and support!

So, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter One**

**~ The Mystery Begins ~**

White struggled with her case up the steps leading to the front doors of the school – although it looked more like a castle from where she was standing. Just as she reached the top her Snivy accidentally fell against the case, sending it flying back down the steps with grating bumps. White groaned.

"Sni," Snivy apologised, ashamed.

"That's okay, I know you didn't mean it," White forgave her. She stared down at the case with a feeling of exhaustion. She'd had a long day and all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep. To make matters worse, it was still raining and she was getting wetter and wetter by the second.

"Need help with that?" asked a voice, startling her from her thoughts. Looking down the steps she saw a handsome boy with sopping, dirty-blonde hair around her age standing there.

"Oh, uh…" before White could form a response the boy had picked up her case and was carrying it easily along with his own.

"Thanks," White smiled at him when he reached her. Looking into his pale gray eyes, she was surprised to see hardness in them.

"No problem. It's not your fault your pokémon is really clumsy," he shrugged in an offhand way.

"Snivy!" Snivy jumped up onto White's shoulder and glared at the boy.

"Hey! Snivy's not usually clumsy, she just slipped, that's all," White defended her pokémon wearily.

"Whatever. I'm Trip by the way."

"I'm White," she replied, taking hold of her case.

"You know, you look like you're about to fall over," Trip commented.

_Was this boy deliberately trying to annoy her?_

"Really? Thanks for telling me," White replied in a slightly sarcastic tone and yawned, snapping her mouth shut when she tasted rain.

Trip offered her a quick smile. "You're welcome. Come on." He started to walk away.

"What?" White stared after him, confused.

Trip turned around and came back. "Well, unless you want to spend all day getting wet…"

"Oh, right, I'm coming," White mumbled. They walked in silence for a moment.

"Long day?" Trip asked.

"Yeah. I came all the way from Unova – had to leave at three in the morning," White explained, blinking rainwater out of her eyes.

"Oh? I come from Unova too, although I travelled down yesterday," Trip commented, pulling on the rope dangling down from the old fashioned brass bell hanging down by the rain-soaked door. White nodded dumbly, too tired to do anything else.

While they were waiting for someone to answer the door, Trip pulled a camera out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the school.

A sullen faced, red-haired woman opened the iron-studded door and the pair stepped inside.

White's first impression of the school had been right: this really _was _a castle, with stone walls, battlements, tall turrets, winding staircases and no glass in the six-inch thick holed that were supposed to be windows. Even the entrance hall she was standing in, though it had no windows, was fairly drafty.

"Welcome, I'm Nurse Joy," she said and checked the list she was holding. "You must be White and Trip. Follow me," she said in a monotone that only encouraged White's fatigue.

They followed her in silence, Snivy still riding on White's shoulder, until they reached a place not dissimilar to a Unova pokémon centre.

"Give me your pokémon; I need to check their health. You will collect them after dinner," Nurse Joy told them, her face saying that she would tolerate no arguments.

After they had reluctantly handed over their pokéballs, Nurse Joy gave them each a sheet of paper.

"These are your lesson schedules and have your room numbers, the time of dinner etcetera on them. Do not lose them. Now go and unpack." She shooed them away without any enthusiasm.

"Well, that was weird," White muttered, glancing at her schedule.

"You're telling me," Trip agreed, pausing when they reached a staircase. "I'm room 222, I think I go up here," he told her.

"Right. See you later," White said without thinking, and then cursed herself for her stupidness. He probably thought she was stupid enough already, without her trying to make it seem like they were friends.

"Yeah," Trip gave her another quick smile and then departed, leaving her thoroughly confused.

_Ooookay_. White shook her head and tried to make sense of the directions she had been given to find room 111.

* * *

"This is just unreal," May grinned. She was sitting with Dawn and Misty on the bed she had chosen after de-dusting it as much as possible. All the beds had been covered with a thick layer of dust along with the floor and pretty much everything else. They had just spent an hour trying to clean up but there was still a long way to go to make the room fit for living in.

After (eventually) finding the way back to her room she found two girls she thought she would never see again inside. It turned out she was sharing a room with the Dawn and Misty, whom she had met through her old travelling companion, Ash.

Misty nodded. "I know, I thought I'd never see you again after that one time we met a couple of years ago," she admitted.

May nodded, and then sighed when someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it." She sprang lightly off the bed and opened the door to see a girl about the same height as her with rich brown, slightly wavy but dripping wet hair pulled back in a high ponytail over which a damp pink-and-white cap was fixed.

"Umm, hi," the girl said. "I'm White; I think I'm supposed to be sleeping in here…?" the girl blinked her large brown eyes tiredly.

May smiled at her. "Sure, come in," she stood back to allow White to pass. "I'm May," May introduced herself. "The girl with the short, red hair is Misty and the girl next to her with the long, blue-black hair is Dawn," she finished.

"Nice to meet you all. Uh, I'm really tired, would it be okay if I slept a bit before dinner?" White asked.

"Of course," Dawn nodded and waved her hand around. "Take any bed, we haven't chosen yet," she offered. "Ooh, and I love your cap! May I have a look?" she jumped to her feet.

"Uh, sure," White tossed her cap to Dawn and Misty scoffed.

"It's only because it has pink on it. I've known the girl for all of ten minutes and I've already learnt she is _obsessed_ with the colour pink," Misty whispered in explanation.

They both looked at Dawn who was admiring White's cap. She was still wearing her pink fake-fur coat. White giggled, "So I see." She yawned. "Can I have that bed?" she asked, pointing to one of the two by the window. "I'm used to sleeping in the open air," she explained.

"Sure. I personally prefer beds that are closer to the centre of the room where it's warmest," Dawn commented, completely oblivious to their whispered discussion about her.

"Hey, we'll help you de-dust it," May offered and the four girls got to work.

As soon as White's chosen bed was deemed de-dustified, she collapsed on top of it to the amusement of her room-mates.

"Come on, let's get some unpacking done," Misty suggested. "It'll be something to do before dinner."

* * *

In a forest close to the Ice Academy, a fifteen-year-old girl was cowering inside a hollow tree. She had long brown hair which, at that moment, looked almost black because it was wet through. Her clothes were also soaked, and she was shivering as raindrops rolled down her arms. She was wearing shorts that had been torn from her previous dash through the forest, and a blue tank top which was also slightly torn. Attached to her belt were six pokéballs.

"Come on out, Ivysaur," the girl whispered, unclipping one of the pokéballs from her belt and sending out her starter pokémon.

"Ivy, Ivysaur," the grass-and-poison type pokémon complained as she emerged outside of the hollow tree, where the rain was still pouring down.

The girl re-attached the pokéball to her belt. "Sorry Ivysaur, I know you're tired, but I need your help one more time," she explained, regret filling her voice. The sound of several people and pokémon crashing through the undergrowth nearby made the girl and her Ivysaur flinch. "Are you up for it?" she asked.

The Ivysaur stood firm, a gleam entering her eyes. She nodded solemnly. "Saur!"

The girl smiled gratefully. "Thanks Ivysaur, I promise you can have a nice long rest when we reach our destination," she said.

The pokémon took a few steps forward and nuzzled her trainer's hand before turning around just as a shout came from behind the hollow tree: "She's over here! Growlithe can smell her!"

The girl's expression hardened and she stepped out of the hollow tree. "Hide in there and await my command," she whispered as she passed Ivysaur. The seed pokémon quickly jumped inside the hollow tree as her trainer stood under the trees letting the rain pound down on her freezing skin.

She didn't have long to wait before the people who had been chasing her caught up to her. They all wore raincoats which covered their uniforms, but she knew who they were. "Here I am," she said calmly, forcing her teeth to stop chattering.

The first man to reach her stared in surprise; he hadn't expected her to give herself up so easily. "R-right! You n-need to come w-w-with us-s-s," he ordered through chattering teeth.

"Not likely," the girl replied. "What gave you the idea that I could come quietly?" she added, raising an eyebrow.

A woman with a thin face stepped forward, a Houndour by her side. "Your pokémon are all knocked out and you have nowhere left to run," she sneered. "There's nothing else for you to do. Get her," she told her Houndour.

The girl smiled. "You forgot one thing – I never lose. Ivysaur, poison powder!" she called.

The eight or so men and women before her gasped. "You wouldn't!" cried out one of the youngest, a boy around nineteen years old.

The girl folded her goosebump-covered arms and shrugged. "I just have," she said as Ivysaur emerged from the hollow tree and used poison powder, sending it over the humans as well as their pokémon.

They collapsed on the ground, convulsing, and the girl couldn't stop a feeling of pity from washing over her. It wasn't their fault; they were only doing their job. But she pushed the feeling away. The poison wouldn't kill them. So she turned away and gently stroked Ivysaur's head.

"Thank you, my friend. Now, have a good, long rest," she murmured, returning her pokémon. She then walked away from her pursuers, towards the edge of the forest, without looking back once.

* * *

When the dinner bell rang it startled everyone, but it especially startled White. She sat up suddenly on her bed and looked around wildly. "What was that?" she gasped, wide-eyed.

"The dinner bell, I think," Misty replied. "Have a nice nap?" She was just closing the door to the wardrobe she shared with May. Dawn had one to herself so far, as did White, for their last two roommates had not yet arrived.

White nodded, calming down. "Yes, thanks." She yawned, "But I'm still going to go to bed early tonight."

"Did someone mention dinner?" May poked her head out of the bathroom. It was attached to the bedroom which was lucky for them, but still fairly small and plainly decorated.

"Uh-huh," Dawn mumbled. She was still sorting through her wardrobe. "You don't think we have to wear our uniforms yet, do you? Because school isn't supposed to start for another couple of days..."

May bolted out of the bathroom. "Who cares? I want to go and see what's on the menu!"

White laughed. "Are you guys always like this?" she asked, swinging her legs off the bed and reaching for her bag.

"Always like what?" May asked, puzzled.

"So focused on food and clothes," White answered.

"Yep, they are," Misty spoke up. "As far as I can tell, anyway. What are you focused on, then?"

"Er, hello? Dinner awaits us," May hinted unsubtly. She was slowly opening the door to their room.

White quickly brushed her hair – she had forgotten to take it out of its high ponytail before going to sleep – and re-did it before joining May by the door."Is it okay if I join you all for dinner?" she asked uncertainly. She still didn't know them that well – or at all, really – and didn't want to force her presence on them.

"Of course! We're roommates now, and roommates stick together!" Dawn exclaimed as they left the room.

White was walking next to Misty with May and Dawn in front of them when she suddenly remembered she hadn't answered the redhead's question. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't answer your question – my main focus is my pokémon," she said. "I can't wait to see Snivy again."

Misty grinned. "Same, I hate being apart from Starmie for too long, and my other pokémon as well."

The two girls turned a corner just as a voice from behind them said, "You have a _Snivy_?" They turned and came face to face with a purple-haired, onyx-eyes teenager. A frown was set on his face.

White nodded, confused. "...Yes?"

Paul glared at her. "Snivy is a Unova starter," he growled.

"So?" White was surprised by his aggressive attitude, and feeling self-conscious without her pokémon by her side. Misty stepped in-between them.

"Hey – back off, whoever you are. Leave White alone," Misty warned.

The teenager crossed his arms. "No. She's a Unovian spy – one of the reasons I was sent to this stupid excuse for a school," Paul accused.

Meanwhile, Dawn and May had come to find their roommates having realised they were no longer following. "What's going on?" May called.

"Paul?" Dawn gasped, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Misty glanced up at Dawn with narrowed eyes. "This guy is a friend of yours?"

"More like she's an annoying brat who hangs around with that other annoying brat," Paul interrupted.

Dawn frowned. "But why are you here?" she asked, choosing to ignore Paul's rude comments.

"Because of the law," Paul grunted. "This girl is a danger to the region." He pushed roughly past Misty to face White.

"I'm not a spy! I'm only here because the schools in Unova didn't..." White sighed. "Never mind. But I promise I am _not_ a spy!"

"Whoa, I'm confused," May cut in. "Why does this Paul guy think White is a spy?"

"Paul thinks White is spying on us because she's from Unova," Dawn answered. "But you're not a spy, right White?"

White nodded desperately. Paul was glaring at her and it made her nervous.

"Stop it Paul!" Dawn cried. She started towards them but didn't get far before Misty brushed past her.

Misty slapped Paul's cheek, hard. A red mark appeared and Paul let go of White in surprise. "Apologize," he warned.

"Make me," she retorted.

"Fine. When classes start in two days time, our first class is Battle Techniques. Partner me and we'll battle. Whoever loses apologizes, deal?" he challenged.

She considered for a moment, and then nodded curtly. "Deal. And if you lose, you have to also apologise to White and accept that she isn't a spy," Misty added.

Paul nodded his head once. "But if _you_ lose, you have to let me turn her in for questioning," he said.

Three girls waited anxiously for Misty's answer.

"Agreed," came the reply.

Paul stalked off without another word and White watched him go. She was trembling from shock, and Misty and Dawn each out comforting arms around her.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you again," Misty promised.

White shrugged hopelessly. "I knew it would be bad. He was right, even if I am not a spy my region is still the reason for the war. He needs someone to blame and I guess I just turned up at the right time. He's not the only one to turn on me, either," White admitted.

"What happened?" Misty asked. Concern for this girl she had only recently met welled up in her heart.

White took a deep breath. "On the way here I was stoned when a few young teenage boys saw me with Snivy. I wasn't badly hurt because Snivy defended me, but it only made their prejudice against me worse," she sighed.

Misty, May and Dawn were silent. Then Dawn spoke up: "Well, I'm going to talk to Paul. He has no right to say anything like that to you," she declared and stalked off after him.

"Yeah, and we won't let anyone else hurt you either," May promised.

"Thanks guys," White hugged them. "I know I don't know you very well, but I appreciate it even more for that."

"Come on," Misty said as she pulled away, "let's go to dinner."

* * *

"Paul!" Dawn called, reaching him just before he entered the dining hall. He turned slowly on the spot to face her.

"What?" he asked, his face set in a hard expression.

"You had no right to talk to White like that!" Dawn burst out. "How dare you accuse her of being a spy when you don't even know her? How dare you – Mmph!" she spluttered as Paul suddenly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh," he hissed, pulling her away from the huge oaken door that led into the dining hall and leading her into the shadows, behind a tall stone pillar.

Dawn was about to bite his hand to make him let go when she realised why he had pulled her aside. A moment later two adults deep in conversation rounded the corner and came to a stop outside the hall doors.

"... know we cannot let her go, don't you?" a man was saying. Paul had withdrawn his hand from Dawn's mouth but he gripped her wrist lest she did anything stupid. They both peered around the pillar to see the sullen Nurse Joy talking with a man who had close-cropped teal hair.

"It was not my men who failed to capture her," Nurse Joy replied. "But I think that this could work to our advantage."

Dawn frowned. "What are they talking about?" she wondered.

"Shush," Paul hissed at her. "Listen."

The man with teal hair was speaking again: "How?"

"Because," Nurse Joy smiled slyly, "she will be here, in this school, under my watch."

The teal-haired man frowned. "So?"

"So," Nurse Joy continued, "she will think she is safe."

"Ah, I see," the other man also began to smile. "She won't know what's hit her."

"Exactly," Nurse Joy agreed. "Now, I think it's time we officially welcome the new student to this school, don't you?"

"Of course. Lead the way," the teal-haired man opened one of the large oak doors and gestured for Nurse Joy to go first. She smiled at him and went inside with him following, closing the doors behind them.

Dawn and Paul emerged from their hiding place and Dawn turned to the purple-haired teenaged, not sure what to make of the conversation they had just overheard. "What was that?" she asked finally.

Paul shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "No idea, but I'm certain we weren't supposed to hear any of it."

Dawn frowned. "It sounded like they were talking about a girl... a student who's coming here?"

"Who cares?" Paul shrugged again. "It's none of our business."

Dawn glared at him. "Then why did you pull me behind that pillar?"

"Because we would have got into trouble if they had seen us," Paul replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think you'll find we were supposed to be at dinner ten minutes ago."

"Wait!" Dawn grabbed his arm before he could walk away. Paul glanced down at her hand and then looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry," Dawn hastily withdrew her hand. "But, I never took you as someone who cared about getting into trouble."

Paul sighed. "I don't. But it would be a shame for you to start the term with an unclean record." He then walked up to the hall doors and opened one, slipping inside.

Dawn stared after him, surprised. Before she could collect her thoughts she heard her friends approaching.

"Dawn, there you are!" May cried out. "Did you find Paul?"

"Wh-what?" Dawn blinked, confused.

May grinned at her. "You said you were going to talk to Paul about the way he treated White...?"

"Oh, that," Dawn nodded, remembering. "I mean, yeah, I found him..." she trailed off as she suddenly realised that maybe Paul hadn't just pulled her behind the pillar to keep her (and himself) from getting into trouble, but maybe to also make her forget the reason she had gone looking for him in the first place.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked, approaching with White.

Dawn gritted her teeth. "Come on, I'll tell you over dinner."

* * *

When the girls entered the dining hall they were immediately spotted by Nurse Joy. She was sitting in the middle of the teachers table which was placed on a raised stage at the end of the hall. The student tables were long, wooden ones that reached from one end of the long hall to the other, with a break in the middle of them. There were eight tables in total, Misty soon realised, which meant one year per table. The eighth table was empty, but the other seven were all almost full.

"You, girls who have just entered the hall!" Nurse Joy boomed down at them. She was speaking into a microphone and several students winced as it crackled.

Misty looked up at Nurse Joy. She was glaring at them. "You are late. At the Ice Academy, lateness is not tolerated. You will each have detention this Saturday," she told them in a sour voice. Misty was beginning to wonder if she ever smiled.

"But that's not fair," May complained.

"Come on, let's just go find out seats," Misty muttered. She was more embarrassed from the public telling off in front of the whole school that the unfairness of the punishment. She scanned the room until she spotted the Fifth Year's table on the far side of the hall and then she led everyone over to it, trying to ignore the stares directed at them.

Her face was burning as red as her hair as she glared at anyone brave enough to meet her eyes. But as she swept her eyes over their year's table she felt her heart leap when she saw a familiar mop of messy black hair.

"Misty! May! Dawn! Over here!" called a boy named Ash Ketchum. In that moment, Misty felt relief – and amazement – wash over her because Ash was there. He was actually attending the same school she was! Misty, May and Dawn all rushed over to Ash as conversation in the hall picked up around them, people losing interest now they were no longer being told off by Nurse Joy.

Ash stood up as one by one, each girl flung their arms around him and hugged him tightly. It was a sweet moment as they all began talking at once, Ash grinning from ear to ear and the three girls mirroring his expression. But as they took their seats next to Ash, Misty suddenly remembered their roommate. She looked over her shoulder to see White standing awkwardly a couple of meters behind them.

"Hey, White, come over here and meet Ash," she invited, glad to see White smile nervously and sit in the seat next to Misty.

"Thanks," she told Misty. Looking past Misty to May and dawn, who were both engaged in a loud discussion with the black haired boy, she added, "Who is Ash?"

As everyone exchanged stories, members of the kitchen staff began bringing food to the table. As they did so, four boys took the empty seats opposite the girls. Misty found herself opposite a tall boy with spiky brown hair who she had thought she would never see again.

"Gary?"

He looked up at her in surprised. "Misty, I didn't expect to see you here," he greeted. Ash suddenly jumped into their conversation.

"Yeah, isn't is great? Everyone's here!" Ash exclaimed happily through a mouthful of food.

Misty looked at him disapprovingly,

"How many times have I told you not to talk with food in your mouth?" the redhead scolded, but she wasn't really angry. More than anything she was just happy to be reunited with Ash again after so long.

"Sorry," Ash swallowed his food and turned to Gary. "You remember Misty, right?"

Gary nodded. "You're that hot-headed trainer who travelled with Ash for some time," he said to Misty.

"And you're the jerk who needed to be stalked by cheerleaders to catch any pokémon," she returned guardedly.

"Hey, Gary's not like that anymore," Ash interjected.

Gary rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I've grown up since then," he told Misty.

Misty raised an eyebrow. "We'll see. Where did you come from just now anyway?"

Gary held up a pokéball. "Paul, Drew, Trip and I were just collecting our pokémon from Nurse Joy," he told her.

"More like Nurse Moody," Misty replied. "Does that mean I can go and fetch my pokémon then? And who are Paul, Drew and Trip?"

"They're mine and Ash's roommates. And sure you can collect your pokémon, you just gotta go up there," he indicated the teachers table. Misty saw several people all ready lined up to collect their pokémon. Before she left her seat however, she remembered something. "Wait a minute, did you say Paul?"

Gary shrugged. "Yeah?"

"He's a jerk," Misty commented, standing up. "Hey, White, are you coming with me to fetch our pokémon?"

"Sure!" White agreed, enthusiastic at the thought of seeing Snivy again. "Let's go."

"Hey, we're coming too," Dawn called, standing up with May. Together the girls approached the teachers table.

* * *

As the girls reclaimed their seats with their pokémon, a sudden commotion at the end of the hall made everyone fall silent.

A sopping wet girl with long, dark hair had entered the hall. She looked cold and tired, but she shut the door behind her with a bang.

"Who is that?" May wondered under her breath.

"Someone who is about to get seriously told off," Drew, who was sitting opposite May, commented. Sure enough, Nurse Joy had left the teachers table and was stalking down the hall towards the girl who was dripping a puddle on the floor.

To everyone's surprise however, the girl did not get told off for begin late and dripping all over the floor. Nurse Joy simply exchanged a few words with her before sweeping the hall with her piercing gaze.

"Room 111," she snapped suddenly. "This is your new roommate. Take her and dry her off," she ordered.

For a long moment no-one moved, and the girl glanced up at the ceiling. Then White started. "Hey... aren't we room 111?"

"Oh, yes, we are," Misty confirmed.

"Let's go and help her then," White said, standing up. The other girls followed her lead, but not before Ash told them he would meet them later so they could all catch up properly.

Misty found herself, along with the other three girls, the centre of attention for the second time that day and she was beginning to really dislike it. Everyone stared at them as they approached the dripping wet girl and, after Nurse Joy had taken the girl's pokémon, led her out of the hall.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So what did you think of it? I changed it quite a bit from the origional version, but it still felt slightly rushed in places. Also, please do tell me if you spot any typo's and I'll make sure to change them.

Thanks for reading,

Jay


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